Dreamer
by Royal Lady
Summary: Jay Crow is the daughter of a spymaster and a knight in training when she discovers that she's the last survivng remnant of an ancient race. What happens when a mysterious entity emerges from the shadows and comes out to get her? On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi, this is Royal Lady here. Thanks for giving my fic a go, I'm a first timer with these long multi chapter fics… Please R&R. **

**Diclaimer: I am not Tammy Pierce… Anything recognizable is not mine.**

Padraig haMinch frowned and scrutinized the slender dark haired girl seated on the other side of his handsome teak desk.

"I understand you claim no Gift."

"That is correct, my lord."

"You will receive no special treatment because of your sex. The presence of a maid does not count as a chaperonage. When another page is in your room, the door will remain open. I will tolerate no flirtations or involvements with other pages. You will bathe in the women's baths, due to the recent influx of female pages. Any tardiness or fighting will be duly punished. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my lord," Jessalin Crow intoned. Padraig looked carefully at the girl's delicate nose, almond shaped eyes framed by long lashes and her full mouth. Boys would ignore the spark of determination in her very dark eyes and the calluses and knife scars on her hands, thinking she was an easy catch. They would dismiss the feather tattoos on her arms and across her back for a mark of eccentricity, instead of a betrayal of the breathtaking speed and strength of a part crow-girl. Padraig could only sigh, inwardly, with pity for those unfortunates who had to be taught their mistake.

Outside the training master's office, Nawat Crow pulled his daughter aside in a hug. Jessalin giggled.

"You must promise me you will not send any bullies home in boxes."

"Da!"

"Promise!"

"Alright, alright, I promise!"

After saying her goodbyes to her Da, a small woman with frizzy hair, in the uniform of the female palace servants and a ring of keys at her belt guided Jessalin to her room.

"Hello. My name is Salma, and I'm the head of staff for the pages' wing. We'll take care of your room, like making the bed and cleaning the dressing room. Mind you, we won't clean your weapons and armour and such like, that's what you're here to learn. We have fitted all this year's female pages' rooms with extra locks. The silver key is for the shutters. The brass one is for the door. After you turn the keys whisper your name in the lock. If anyone tries to pick the lock they will be sprayed with skunk stink. They'll think twice after that." Salma clasped Jessalin's shoulder. "If you need anything, even if it's a sympathetic ear, don't hesitate to come to me."

When they arrived, the room was in perfect order. The bed was made with crisp white linens. The heavy desk was tidy, with quills, ink, paper and sealing wax. The clothes press had all her favourite clothes in it. Her collection of knives hung neatly on the walls.

"Rather a lot of knives, don't you think?" Salma teased.

Jessalin grinned. "Well, that comes of having a knife happy ma and a crow- turned- man for a da." She bird-shrugged. "And a miss-spent girlhood in the Kyprish palace armoury and on the roofs of the palace."

Salma laughed. "Supper is at the next bell. Try not to be tardy."

Jessalin closed the door and shook out her second best shirt of black silk trimmed with black lace.

Upon the sound of the bell, all the pages emerged from their rooms. The training master strode down the hall.

" New pages, line up. Others, line up opposite. You have one more day to laze and get to know the palace. As I pass you, new pages, state your name and your family's holding. Any volunteers to sponsor the new ones step forward after they have done so." Padraig passed the first boy, a small skinny thing with bright red hair and copious amounts of freckles.

"Your name and fief?"

"Marcus..., sir... M-Marcus of H-Hollyrose." A tall youth with the barest touch of a summer tan stepped forward.

"If I may, my lord?"

"You may sponsor Lofren, Matthias of King's Reach."

Padraig passed onto the next page, a boy with mousy brown hair and dreamer's hazel eyes with 5 feet to his name.

"Kellan of Mindelan, sir." Padraig made a noise which would be labeled a snort on a less dignified man.

"I had the...pleasure... of working with your father, Conal. Don't worry; I won't hold it against you."

A slender girl stepped forward this time. She had her mother's smoky brown hair and her father's height.

"I am willing to sponsor Kellan, my lord."

"Then do so, Sarralyn of Mage's Tower."

Padraig continued down the line of pages and each was allocated a sponsor. In the group of new pages, five, counting Jessalin, were female. Parizade and Emmalie of Masbolle, twins, with snapping blue eyes and dancers' muscles, were sponsored by Iros of Kennan and Verlin of Blue Harbour.

Kiera of Queenscove, a small girl with her mother's feline features and muscles hardened from training with a Yamani _naginata_, or glaive, was sponsored by Darin of Tameran. Helena of Seabeth and Seajen was sponsored by Selena of Jesslaw. Finally, the training master stepped in front of Jessalin.

"Jessalin Crow of the Copper Isles."

The other pages started to whisper, and Jessalin could feel the furtive gazes directed at her.

"I would like to sponsor Jessalin. Her grandmother used to be a lady of Trebond, and I claim the right of kinship." The speaker was a tall girl, with reddish brown hair and a calm, confident stance.

"Well said, Elspeth of Trebond." The training master passed on to the next page. He was tall and had Stormwing feathers braided into his long blonde hair. Jessalin raised her eyebrow. Her cousin Rikki certainly had changed since she had last seen him.

"If I may, my lord?" Rikash began. "I have lived most of my life within the palace grounds, and am familiar with them. Therefore, is it not feasible that I should carry on without a sponsor?"

"Indeed it is. Your reasoning has spared one other page from having to sponsor a first year."

Rikash smiled politely and bowed. The training master nodded stiffly and strode away. The rest of the pages took their cue and left the corridor.

***

Elspeth offered her hand with a friendly smile. As Jessalin took it she was tugged upward gently as Elspeth tried to throw her. Jessalin countered with a leg sweep which Elspeth blocked. They continued the customary greeting tussle until both ended on the floor. Both got up and dusted themselves off before firmly embracing the other.

"El! Still in good form, I hope?"

"Really! What kind of Trebond do you think I am, Jay?" El playfully swatted at Jessalin's head, which she ducked. Rikki casually ambled over with Parizade, Emmalie and Kiera.

"The playpen has suddenly grown, or rather, will grow, rather violent," Rikki drawled. Kiro scoffed.

"The _play pen_ will see you beaten, battered, broken and spat out back to front without the knowledge of the difference between right and left," Kiro said scornfully, whilst keeping an exceedingly serious expression upon her face.

Parizade, or Riza, as Jessalin could tell by her longer, chocolate brown hair, subtly indicated that Rikki was crazy. Emmalie, or Lee, subtly indicated her agreement. El cleared her throat loudly.

"Well? There's something called _supper_ that is waiting." The other sponsors, who had congregated on the other side of the hall, sauntered over with expectant expressions. Rikki rolled his eyes and headed off in the direction of the mess.

Jessalin commented absently, "What did you do to your hair?"

"Oh, that. That's just a part of my new, improved _unique charm_."

"Smooth talker," scoffed Jay, cuffing Rikki lightly around the ear.

***

The pages collected their food and laid their trays on the tables just as the training master strode into the mess, accompanied by a familiar figure with the trademark Conté black hair and sapphire eyes. Taking their place at the table upon the raised dais the training master cleared his throat, attracting the attention, and as a byproduct of such, silence, of the pages.

"May we, by the strength of our endeavours and the steadfastness of our faith, bring honour in the face of great Mithros and the just Mother to our great country, we humbly pray."

"So mote it be," the pages replied in a hushed unison. Prince Roald smiled a genuine, if small, smile and bade them to eat.

The pages took this as a cue and plonked down upon the wooden benches, resuming their loud conversations. Elspeth introduced the other members of their group.

"Of course you've met Matt, Sarra, Iros, Verlin, Darin and Selena. The brunette sitting over there is Willow of Goldenlake," Elspeth paused for breath, and then pointed out and another pair of boys, "That's Marcus your yearmate, Haden of Tasride and Pathom of Goldenlake. Kieran of Nond and Avalon of Stone Mountain are over there. Every once in a while the Stone Mountain stock turns out a good one." Avalon had inherited all of the classic Stone Mountain good looks, but was skinny enough to be termed slender, but not underfed. He seemed unconcerned about the implication made about the Stone Mountain line, even looking shyly pleased, ducking his head to hide a faint blush. Marcus and Haden avoided their vegetables as if eating them would cause an instant outbreak of plague. Kieran was reading a _very _heavy looking book as Sarra battered Matt with a stick of bread.

An angry shout rang across the hall.

"You dirty little halfblood! How dare you taint our hallowed hall and break our traditions so irreparably, you _foreigner hybrid_?" the speaker snarled.

"Lucky for us, Marti's Hill, new blood prevents incest. I heard that your mother was also your aunt!" another boy replied cheerfully. Glossy black hair flopped over his forehead in a messy fringe against a backdrop of creamy skin. Big brown, almond shaped eyes hinted as to a mixed, Yamani-Tortallan heritage. Another page smacked him upsides the head and hissed, "Jun, you're a prince, you oaf, you don't need anymore enemies than you already have. Shut up!"

"Really!"

"Jun, I should think that you would at least _try _to live up to your name's meaning." Roald mused. Jun rolled his eyes.

"Conté, Marti's Hill, report to me after supper is finished," the training master boomed. Lord Padraig resumed his meal without further ado, and the awkward silence was broken.

"That was our resident royal, Prince Jun the Bonehead. Reckless, impulsive, brave to the point of stupidity but good fun. He spends time with everyone at dinner, so he doesn't always sit with us. The only reason he doesn't sit with Estin and his cronies is because they can't go an entire meal without either starting a shouting match or a fist fight," El commented lightly. The others snorted amusement.

"Eat your-"

"Vegetables!" Riza and Lee ordered. The group laughed as Marcus and Haden looked disapprovingly at their vegetables, turning slightly green.

El only realised then that Jay had been carrying a bottle of suspicious, orange red substance. Jay plonked it firmly on the table, uncapped it and thoroughly doused her meal in the sauce.

"Ooh!" Iros reached over and did the same, shoveling a hearty mouthful into his waiting orifice. Jay blanched immediately.

"Oh, you didn't…" Iros was slowly turning redder by the second, fanning himself before spitting out the mouthful.

"Hot, hot, hot!"

"That's five X chilli hot sauce! Here!" Jay shoved a bread roll and glass of milk under Iros' nose, completely aware of his obliviousness to water's ineffectiveness at quenching the fire of the chilli sauce.

"What's...five X…chilli sauce?" Iros panted, red as a tomato, or, rather, a ripe chilli.

"Extra extra extra extra extra hot chilli sauce! Only Kyprish bred and born even touch the stuff, it's so hot."

The rest of the pages were roaring in laughter.

***

Jun sighed in satisfaction. As always, the meal served had been delicious and filling. The evening had only been marred by the dishing out of punishment. He made his way to the student library to borrow some books for light reading. While carefully sorting through the 'S' shelves, Estin of Marti's Hill and his cronies, Jarvis of Runnerspring and Rymon of Genlith grabbed him by the shirt. The three youths were more than a match for him in size alone if not skill.

"Halfbreed scum. We'll teach you to be disrespectful to your betters!"

"Wha-" He was silenced with with a brutal punch in the face. As the other pages rained blows he desperately tried to protect himself, retaliate, anything - his mind dimly registered that someone was still holding him, arms pinned to his sides. Suddenly the punches and kicks stopped.

"That's enough. Leave it," Estin commanded. Then he saw was the ground rushing up to him. He reacted instinctively releasing a massive shockwave of raw force, a product of his equally massive, explosive Gift. The three cronies were knocked flat as shelf after shelf toppled, in a domino effect.

***

El and Jay were about to venture in the way of the page libraries when the ground shook and the corridor trembled. Jay immediately flung herself down to the ground and brought El down with her. The tremor ended as quickly as it began.

"That doesn't normally happen," El said shakily. Jay did the mental twist that allowed her to See magical traces. Brilliant sapphire blue, so dark that it was almost black, limned in gold permeated the space of the corridor, steadily darkening as the corridor led away to various locations. Jay sprinted away, following the trail of magic.

"Hey, wait! What happened to following your sponsor?" El shouted.

The trail led to a desecrated library. Shelves lay on the floor and books, scrolls and papers were scattered everywhere. The nucleus of the blast hovered straight above a sprawled figure that looked like they had been badly battered. Three other figures lay just outside the epicenter of the blast, looking as if they had been blown off their feet.

El skidded into the doorway. For long moments she stood transfixed, mouth agape.

"Don't stand there gawping like a goldfish! Go get a healer!" Jay ordered.

***

Jun groaned as he returned to the world of awareness. He felt like he'd been tenderized like a piece of meat under a cook's hammer.

"Hello, prince of the pulped." This was young girl, tucked into a bedside chair and reading a red book.

"Is that _Deviations from the common path_?" He tried to push himself upright, but his left arm was pulped and his right was in a sling.

"Whoa ther, slow down! Bad pulp. Bad, bad pulp. One arm broken, three ribs cracked, both eyes blacked, and bruises everywhere," she tutted, " Out for fourteen hours. Back to your question, yup. Volume 4 to be precise. I have the whole set. Do you read it too?"

"You bet I do! I worship those books!" The girl grinned happily.

"Don't you just love number 114? It works a treat every time."

"You got it to work? I can never rig the knot right!"

"I'll show you. It's really very easy."  
"I don't know your name, so, what's your name?" asked Jun, now thoroughly awakened and totally curious.

"The humble Jay Crow at your service. Now, back to 114, you need to do a quick release so that you can pull at a moment's notice, not a reef, since two pieces of rope are fiddly and I have a prejudice against reef knots."

By the end of the discussion, both parties had gained a tasty tidbit of knowledge, and a fast friendship, bonding over a mutual love of deviation from the common path.

**So, like? No like? R&R! Love, R. L**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hiya! Sorry for procrastinating… Haven't updated in a while. Can you guess what Deviations is all about? Kiera gets a nickname (Kiki). A brief rundown on Kyprish fashion: Shorts have been invented, t-shirts exist and converse style shoes exist. I couldn't resist!**

**Previously:**

_By the end of the discussion, both parties had gained a tasty tidbit of knowledge, and a fast friendship, bonding over a mutual love of deviation from the common path._

**Now, to the story!**

After a morning's discussion with the pulp about deviating and prejudice against reef knots, Jay was collected by a ruffled half asleep El for a tour of the castle. They first quickly reviewed the layout of the pages' wing (and the ill fated library that was still being reconstructed by a small army of irate librarians), the classrooms and the practice courts which were the bare minimum that Jay had to know out of necessity.

After this was done, Jay cheerfully dismissed El who was still not wholly aware. She was sure that she could hear mutterings of 'bossy…page sponsor…sleepy…ungrateful'. She traipsed back to her room and collected her various practice weapons, of which there were a wide variety.

The practice courts were empty when Jay arrived, and she marveled in the stupidity of the training warriors who chose not to take advantage of this opportunity to get ahead.

She started first with the staff, twirling and twisting the long wooden pole, stepping lightly and sending up clouds of dust from where the staff hit the ground. Next she practiced her hand to hand fighting, Shang, street and crow, battling imaginary enemies approaching her from every angle.

She didn't notice that a small audience of pulped princes, page sponsors, cats, dogs, sparrows and crows gathering to watch her 'performance' as she effortlessly slid from using her bare hands to using daggers.

"Thing of beauty, huh?" El whispered.

Jun just nodded, astonished. The small audience was not so small anymore, as other pages, squires and knights milled around the court. Jay was moving so quickly, a dark blur obscured by dust clouds. The blur stopped moving, slowly coming into focus as the veil of dust drifted back to the ground. She noticed her audience, frowning quizzically.

"What?" she said, puzzled frown still firmly fixed on her face. Most people in the audience looked abashed, amazed, confused or disbelieving.

"What? What!? Are you kidding me? That was amazing! You're so fast and you're so good, I mean, you could easily beat the fourth years hands down!" Jun exclaimed.

"Pshaw, that wasn't anything special. You should see what my big brothers and sisters can do."

"Well, you're with us now, and you've got to start looking at yourself in terms of what we and the others can do, not by the standard of your old life," El offered. Jay ran to El and hugged her fiercely, laughing like the little girl that she was.

"O spout of clichéd wisdom, you've just reminded me why I like you so much."

***

While eating lunch, Jay remembered to ask Jun why he was sitting with them and not in the infirmary.

"Oh, they cleared me to go," he said, wincing as one of multiple bruises was bumped by an overzealous page.

"You do realise that you're a sadly masochistic pulped prince, don't you?" Jay articulated.

"Ooh, the Bonehead has a new nickname: pulp! Hah! Take that!" El cackled.

"And you, my friend," Jay stated, "are a spout of cliched wisdom." It was Kiera who cackled this time.

"Spout, spout, spout!" Riza and Lee chanted, while Jay vigorously pounded Rikki (who had started choking some five syllables ago) on the back.

"I'm doomed!" El moaned dramatically.

"Yeah right, and Jay's a flying feather duster," Jun scoffed.

Jay tensed. She hadn't counted on the pages being perceptive enough to deduce the origins of her bloodline. El hesitated momentarily, before flapping a hand and denouncing the statement. Jay quickly regained her composure, hoping with a passion that no one had noticed her slip at the mention of feathers and flying. She finished her meal, being careful not to get up too quickly and arouse suspicion. She slipped to her room and closed the door as quietly as possible.

Later in the evening, El visited. Jay opened the door, peering with narrowed eyes through the crack. When she saw it was El, she cautiously opened the door to admit her cousin.

"Are you going to tell them?" El asked quietly, rubbing circles on her young cousin's back.

"What if they think I'm a freak?"

"You're not seriously that insecure, right?"

"No. You're right. I'm actually scared of scarring them for life."

"Oh yeah, your fellow deviant got worried at your sudden disappearance. He'll be visiting soon."

"Thanks for the advance warning, El."

Just as El said, Jun did arrive later.

"Hey."

"I've got something to show you. If I do something that looks stupid, don't stop me. You have to trust me."

Jun looked slightly confused. "Huh?"

"Let's go to the curtain wall," Jay said.

***

The pair stood on the curtain wall, overlooking the sparking lights of the city. Jay leaped nimbly onto the wall separating the guards and any other passers-by from the sheer drop to the ground on the outer side of the curtain wall.

"What are you doing?" Jun asked, baffled.

"Trust me."

And at that, Jay threw herself off the wall.

She could feel the tingling of the unique crow magic that gave them the ability to change forms between human and bird. Feathers rustled against the inside of her shirt and her midnight back wings burst through the back of the shirt.

Jay snapped her wings open and caught a warm updraft to soar above the curtain wall. The euphoria of flying caught her unawares and she let out a long laugh, feeling like _herself_. She looked down at the shocked prince on the curtain wall.

"What can I say? I'm a flying feather duster!" she yelled down, giving Jun a double thumbs up.

Jun gave her a big grin. Jay dive-bombed and pulled up abruptly, swooping low along the curtain wall. She landed, slowing to a stop.

"One word, two syllables: speechless."

Jay laughed. "I'm part-crow, so I have the stealth and the speed, not to mention the wings and the reflexes. It's fun. I also have the Sight."

"Package deal, much?" Jun muttered.

"Yeah, it also comes with the razor wit, sarcasm as my native language and rebellious streak. I'm fun, as well. Not like those little convent sissies that are air brains. I mean, some convent girls aren't so bad, I just really don't like the ones who know nothing and act like they rule the world, you know?"

"I have sisters. You have no idea how much they rant about those kinds of girls. They even set up an anti-ignorance rebel revolution movement at convent." Jun shuddered.

"Yeah, one of my sisters is the founder of the Trailblazers. They're a revolution movement too."

"Do you notice how much we've gone off track? It was from me to revolution movements."

The dynamic duo sat under the stars and talked, for the second time in a day, only stopping when the bell rang to signal lights out.

Needless to say, it is difficult to change and wash in darkness.

Sunlight filtered in through the cracks in the shutters. Jay groaned and turned over to bury her face in the pillows before throwing off the blankets and half staggering-half falling out of bed, vigorously rubbing her bleary eyes to clear them of the last lingering remnants of sleep. She speedily dressed and cleaned her teeth and face, pulling her long hair into a messy braid.

Feeling half way human, she flung the door open, nearly avoiding being banged on the nose by an intrepid page sponsor.

"You speak, you die," Jay muttered.

"Aw, it's too beautiful a morning to be grumpy! The sky is blue, the birds are singing and it's our first day of training!" El exclaimed joyfully.

Jay scowled irritably and followed the happily half skipping- half hopping El.

"I just don't get it. How she can be so happy and awake is beyond me," Jay muttered, slapping her palm to her forehead.

"You're so right," Jun grumbled. He, unlike Jay, did not look half way human yet.

"Morning people are overrated." Kiera seemed to have inherited her father Neal's early morning crankiness. Then, she and Jun began to speedily converse in Yamani.

"Yeah, Kiki, can you get me a block of green tea too?" Jay asked. Kiera and Jun blinked.

"What? I speak Yamani. You're right, Three Leaves is good," Jay said, apparently oblivious to any important facts that may have been circulating.

"And you speak what languages?" Kiki asked.

"Common, Kyprish, crow and a little Yamani and Scanran, though I'm not too good yet," Jay commented.

"Ugh, expect that from Wonder Girl, huh?"

First in morning training was Shang fighting. The Shang Horse Hakuin Seastone and the Shank Wildcat Eda Bell supervised. The first year pages were being taught to fall, The Shang Horse throwing each one gently. Of course, the Masbolle twins and Kiki fell with perfect technique, but when he Horse threw Jay, her training took over and she did a forward flip, landing in a low crouched position.

"Youngster, I see that you've learnt to fight somewhere. What style?"

Jay looked mildly abashed. "Um, I learnt street fighting before I learnt Shang, so I never really fall. On the streets, if you go down, you're dead. Most likely to be trampled by rioters' feet."

The other pages looked plain aghast.

Jay pursed her lips. "Hey, what do you expect from a country with a new government? Loads of people are gonna be unsatisfied and they're gonna organise riots and rebellions. I mean, it's the most obvious thing ever," she said in exasperation.

Again, silence.

"Ugh. You know what? Just forget it. Just forget I ever said anything," Jay said, throwing her hands up into the air.

"Okay, Trebond, Kennan, demonstrate. High strike, high block!" The staff sergeant barked at the pages. Some where shrinking and cowering. Jay's esteem for the particular pages dropped several inches. El and Iros demonstrate the prescribed strikes and moved onto middle and lock strike-block combinations. The sergeant barked again and the pages scampered into their lines. Jay was paired up against Kellan. She Began the monotonous drill and made small talk to Kellan who was wincing occasionally.

"Um, no offence or anything, but could you lighten up on the taps?"

"Oh, sorry, I do that sometimes," Jay chirped.

Next was riding. Jay was quick to make it to her charger Friday the Thirteenth's stall. She tacked up and led her horse to the wide meadow where they would be practicing their skills. The training master yelled at her, "Crow, choose another horse, that one's too big!"

Jay called back, "My lord, this is my own horse." Padraig HaMinch looked nonplussed.

"Jeez, what is with the yelling and barking today?" she muttered, vaulting stylishly into the saddle. The pages were instructed to ride in a big circle, to prove that they could handle their horses. Jay found this indefinably boring and was reduced to inventing crazy hypotheses as to why their teachers were so irritable.

***

Jay relaxed in the cool water of the women's baths. Sighing in pleasure, she dipped her head beneath the surface and coming back up. El, Kiki, Riza and Lee were bruised and grumpy from the supposedly 'exhausting' 'mortal torture'.

"That was fun! How many times do we do it a day?" Jay exclaimed.

"Once, and it's more than enough thank you very much," Lee groaned.

Jay snickered. "What else do I need to know?"

"The reading and writing teacher has a massive prejudice against girls, the mathematics teacher is okay, Master Reed is lots of fun, Master Numair rambles and Tkaa the basilisk is a... unique creature, but Master Oakbridge, he's just so picky," El commented. "Oh, we we gotta get out now, it's nearly lunch!"

"Look who's grumpy now."

***

After wolfing a hot-sauce doused lunch, Jay and friends traipsed to their academic classes. Jay had a hard time convincing the reading and writing teacher that she could, in fact, read and write, and when she did the teacher gave her a simple book full of simple sentences made up of simple words . She had exclaimed that she was not an uneducated simpleton and that she had attained a considerable level of proficiency in the language arts as well as a varied and vast vocabulary. Surprisingly, she had kept her straight face while stating this in the most reasonable of tones.

The Mithran master had denounced this as untrue because of Jay's Kyprish origins. Jay then proceeded to death glare the Mithran teacher into oblivion. Either the man was too scared to dish out punishment, or could not, however much he wanted to. Technically, Jay had committed no wrong.

Mathematics was slightly better, since Jay had studied the mathematics required of the first years. She had no problems with the questions and was left with spare time at the end of the lesson.

However, when the pages split into Gift and Immortals classes, Jay was unsure where to go. She finally decided on the Gift class. Master Numair did ramble, and Jay was only half listening during the class.

Master Oakbridge was a dry, ancient fusspot who commanded and demanded. The older pages practiced writing formal letters while the younger ones practiced bowing. The training master indicated that Kyprish ambassadors and their queen would be visiting in the near future. Jay grinned at this mention.

Master Oakbridge frowned at her open display of pleasure.

"What do you find so funny about this situation?" he snapped.

"Nothing, sir, it's just that I am personally acquainted with the ambassadors." Indeed, it was her brothers and sisters who would be the ambassadors, as the children of the famous and infamous Duani. Jay smiled innocently at the etiquette master.

"She's insane," Riza muttered. "Flipping insane."

Jay flopped onto her bed and undid her braid.

"Uuugh." She was emotionally exhausted from the sheer boredom of the classes and the sweltering dry heat in the classrooms. She fumbled in her closet for some shorts and a stretchy 't-shirt' as was fashionable with the Trailblazers. Then she shoved her feet into some sneakers, as spies liked to call them. They were lace-up canvas shoes with soft soles that could be made in bright colours. Jay's were bright yellow. Thus outfitted, she marched smartly to dinner.

***

Jay marched into dinner, determined to fulfill her nutritional needs. She fulled her food tray and sat between Rikki and Jun.

"What?" Jay asked.

"Kyprish fashion, huh?" Rikki observed.

"Yeah, it's super comfy." Jay wiggled her bright yellow sneakers under the table. "It's great for summer."

"I should see about acquiring some," Rikki asserted.

"Freak girl dresses like a freak," Estin taunted from behind Jay. Jay turned and faced the smirking cohorts. She smirked right back.

"Yeah. I'm the little random freak who could whoop your ass into next week."

Jarvis and Rymon growled.

"Hey, I'm a freak! What do you expect?" Jay asked.

"You _will_ treat me with respect," Estin snarled, fist raised.

"Respect is _earned_. What kind of girl do you think I am?"

"The totally unrespectable kind!" Estin almost-shouted back.

"Yah, yah, okay, believe what you want, I'm trying to eat my dinner in peace so I would greatly appreciate if you left us alone," Jay continued in a conversational tone.

"No."

"Did you hear me?" Jay got up and grabbed Estin's shirt. "Leave us alone. Or. Else," she said, voice low and menacing. "Can you get that one, little thought into your head? Please? Is your skull really that thick?" Jay sighed. "Ugh. I just don't get you people." She released her grip on Estin, leaving him to fall in an ungraceful heap on the floor. This was a testament to her strength.

Jay sat right back down and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

El whispered fiercely, "Are you crazy?"  
"Yep!" Jay replied cheerfully.

***

After dinner, as Jay and Kiki were walking back to their rooms, they were approached by the trio of bullies that Jay had insulted during the evening meal.

"You little bugger! I'll get you for insulting me!" Estin growled.

Jay scowled as Estin charged at her, head down. She stepped out of the way and brought her knee up under his chin. She then grabbed him by the hair and threw him into a wall. She swiftly dispatched the others by means of a swift punch and kick.

"You are so tiring."

"Eh…" Kiki muttered.

"It comes as a part of the bird hybrid package deal."

"Let's go, we have homework right?"

"Yes."  
"Have I scarred you for life?"  
"I think so…"

"I think I've done that to about five people so far. There was a random lord flirting with Dove. It was at a casual dance thing, and I'd been forced into a dress. You can imagine that I was pretty annoyed. So, I went over, said hi to that guy and snapped his arm in two."

"You are officially scary," Kiki stammered, eyes wide.

"It's part of my charm."

"Great. Just great. I have an insane friend," Kiki groaned, "Oh joy."

"Pish. Now shoo! I've got some algebra to finish! Some wimpy algebra I might add." Jay shooed Kiki away as she reached her own door.

Jay had not even had time to close the door before Rikki _and _Jun came running. They exclaimed at the same time.

"Help! I can't for the life of me see a point to analyzing this poem!" Rikki shouted.

"Help! I can't for the life of me solve this equation!" Jun yelled.

"I think I'm famous," Jay said, raising her eyebrow. "Rikki, you will analyze that poem because you will get punishment work otherwise. Jun, isolate the 3_x_ on the left hand side and move the ten to the right hand side. Remember to change the sign!"

Just then, Riza and Lee stumbled into the room.

"It's _x_= 4, 1!"

"No, it's _x_= -1±√3_i_!"

"Jeesh, will you stop yelling? I'm going deaf here," Jay said. "Hi? Hello? Yes? Good. Now, my dears, the lovely quadratic formula. Quick, easy and on the whole great to use. Factorize if you can before trying the formula. And that poem? Has no point to it. Just say that it describes the monotony of domesticity in the bewray of a common person's brabbling."

"What?" Lee asked.

"Basically, I am sick of my life so I like to pick fights. Which I'm not. I love my life. One main reason why I love it so much is that I can pick fights and come away fine."

"That's, what, the third time she's affirmed her insanity today?" Riza queried.

"To be insane is to possess a high degree of intellectual independence. Who wouldn't like to be insane?" Jay asked.

"Me," Rikki grumbled.

"Too bad. You already are."

***

The days continued with the steady monotony of the pages' routine, the practice of combat and the learning of academics. Jay, Jun, Kiki, Riza, Lee, Rikki and El grew ever closer with the passing of time, and before they knew it, a month had passed. On that occasion, Jay remarked to Jun, "I feel as if I've known you for my whole life. Incredible, huh?"

Jay was comfortable in the routine until the day the training master announced that they would be tilting at quintains. This was a subject Jay was entirely unfamiliar with, and she looked forward to the surprises that it would bring. Estin stood at the barrels of practice lances, smirking. Jay entertained the notion of foul play, and quickly scanned the lances for magical residues and suspicious marks with her Sight. She did see circular cut marks in the smooth wood. _Weighted_, she thought. She accepted the weighted lance with a sunny smile, and said, "Thank you for taking the trouble to prepare such a fine lance for me, though I think it could have been heavier." The shock on Estin's face was priceless.

She guided Thunder into the first years' line. Riza had inherited some of her mother's tilting talent, hitting the target to have the lance slide. Lee had a similar performance. Rikki was, for lack of a better word, disastrous. Kiki was of average skill. Marcus was painful to watch, and Jay winced as he took his run.

Finally, it was her turn. Friday perked up as they neared the line, sensing the impending charge.

"Come on Friday, let's rock their socks!" Jay whisper yelled. "Charge!"

Friday took off, exploding from the start line. Jay brought her lance up smoothly, hitting the target with great precision. What happened next was unexpected.

The target shattered.

"Haiah, that target is so flimsy. Jeez!" Jay cried. She slapped her palm to her forehead. "Make 'em sturdy! One pass and it breaks. Pfft."

Training Master haMinch was gaping. Jun was shaking his head and muttering something along the lines of 'crazy strong genius super insane bird girl who's mad'. Riza and Lee had adopted identical poses: head in hands. Rikki looked depressed. Kiki was struggling to maintain a facade of blankness, with an occasional smothered giggle leaking out.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do I have to pay for the repairs? My bad. Sometimes I misjudge my strength..."

"Crow, move to the willow ring line. I don't want anymore broken quintains," the training master said, pale.

The pages moved on from the Incident to commence swordsmanship a few weeks later. The pages were instructed that they would craft their own practice swords. The first years obediently filed into the forge. A blacksmith demonstrated for them, and Jay and the others started on their own swords. Jay pounded her sword into a long, slim shape with a hilt just big enough for her small hands. The blacksmiths gave her a commendation to the training master. They also made her welcome to the forge any time she wished to create any swords of armour for herself. She found herself, again, the subject of attention for the second time in the month. While she was a good archer, a decent hand at the mace, axe and war hammer, an astounding jouster, she was a truly gifted swordswoman. The swords master called her 'poetry in motion with a sword in her hand'.

Meanwhile, as Jay reveled in the joys of swordsmanship, Estin, Jarvis and Rymon were left to stew. Before, they had considered her to be a minor annoyance, but now, her rise to the top among the ranks of pages meant war for them. She herself was highly unapproachable. However, her friends were not.

Thus, the gang of three planned their first attack.

They cornered him in an isolated corridor, and had him pinned and knocked senseless before he had the chance to use his gift. When they were done with him, all he could do was trace the letters E, J and R on the flagstones in blood.

**A/N: Ooh, evil cliffy! Who is it? Find out next chapter... Please review. This fic hasn't been getting many hits...**


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